I am writing this within just a few days of one of the saddest days any comic book fan could imagine. Carl Barks has just passed on to that great Duckburg in the sky. This book is, without a doubt, the definitive tribute to a man whose genius is just now being recognized by many.

As you read these outstanding adventure stories - and that's what they are - you will come to know the technique of how this extraordinary man transcended the comic art into the realm of high fiction. Each story is written on two levels, sprinkled with humor and illustrated in such a realistic, yet exaggerated manner that allows the reader to identify strongly with the characters.

My personal favorite is "The Second Richest Duck." In this story, Scrooge, Donald and "the boys" have their true personalities come out with a richness found only in the best writings of major adventure authors and is the equal, at least, to the best Indiana Jones or James Bond story.

I read these stories to my son as he was growing up and promised him the book for his future children. My daughters now each have their own families and the stories are now read by me to my grandchildren. Truly, this tome is part of our family heritage.

I own the hardcover, coffee table edition with a signed, numbered print by Barks. I shall never part with the print, and will hand it down to my son in my estate.

Thank you Carl, for many hours of delicious reading pleasure and the exercise of my imagination. If I could rate this book an infinite number of stars, I would.

This is a fantastic book, covering Scrooge McDuck's life from his days in the Klondike to space travel and flying saucers. The book contains many of my favorite stories including "The Second Richest Duck" and "Land of the Pygmy Indians". There is extensive written material about and by Carl Barks giving much insight into the man behind the duck. Finally, there is a checklist of the comics in which Uncle Scrooge appeared from 1952 to 1988. All in all, this book is a "must-have" for any serious fan of Uncle Scrooge.

One of the best collections of comic art ever published, this superlative volume not only takes eleven of Carl Barks' best book-length Scrooge adventures, adds an original story and includes his own comments on each, but Peter Ledger's recoloring makes these stories look better than they ever have or ever will. The only flaw with the volume is that it will send you into a frenzy to read more about Scrooge...but thankfully, Gladstone Comics has all the stories still in print. Simply superb.

"Thank you for the copy of Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book by Michael Barrier, which we are thrilled to see finally in published form. It was worth the years of waiting, and we hope will supply the answers to the myriad of questions which Carl must answer thousands of times over. Now he can just say buy the Barrier book published by M. Lilien..." -- Gare Barks (Mrs. Carl Barks)

"Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book is the very long-awaited biography/bibliography/critique fo the Good Artist's work by Michael Barrier. It is published in a handsome, sturdy, well-designed hardcover edition by M. Lilien of New York, with a lovely dust jacket featuring a self-caricature of Barks on the front and a color photo of the Duck Man on the back. Inside you will find a detailed account of Barks' life and career, with each story discussed and highlighted. There are many photos of Barks as a young man, sketches and cartoons he did for the Calgary Eye-Opener and as inter-office gags at the Disney Studios... If you are a fan of Carl Barks, you simply, absolutely, positively and unquestionably must have this book and right now. If you are a comic-book student, you must have this book to see how thoroughly and well comics can and should be studied..." -- Don & Maggie Thompson, The Buyer's Guide For Comic Fandom (R)

"...Barrier covers not only the life of Barks but his particular thematic preoccupations (the "rescue theme" in which the parent/child roles are reversed is documented with considerable wisdom, for instance). The photos of Barks, his house, and other people he worked with are precious glimpses on an important period in comic book history, and the many drawings by Barks and others constitute a real treasure trove for both fans and scholars..." -- Cat Yronwode, The Buyer's Guide For Comic Fandom (R)

I bought this book quite a few years ago and am assuming that it remains essentially the same. If you know who Carl Barks is, and if you appreciate/enjoy his definitive comic book Duck stories, especially "Uncle Scrooge" (whom he created) and the Donald Duck feature in the old "Walt Disney's Comics & Stories", then you absolutely must have this book, despite its kingly price in hardcover. My first edition copy has no interior color and the b&w pics are not the best reproduction quality but, still, it is something that any self-respecting Barks fan must have in their library.

Back when I was just a tater, I spent a lot of time waiting anxiously with the other kids for the next Donald Duck comic to hit the stands at the drugstore. Even at this undiscriminating stage, we all knew that one artist drew and wrote better Donald Duck stories than anyone else. He used exciting words that expanded our vocabularies, and his pictures were full of wonderful, imaginative details for us to pore over. We called him the "Good Duck Artist." The GDA, of course, was Carl Barks. His stories were filled with wry humor which made it possible for our folks to appreciate his comics as much as we did. If you haven't been introduced to Barks and his work, you've missed out -- and this book belongs in your library. It gives the comic aficianado a look at Barks' life, career, and artistic vision, beyond just "the ducks." From his early, sometimes rather racy work for "Coo Coo" and other "spicy" magazines to his current jewel-like oil paintings (of ducks and other subjects), this book provides a comprehensive review of a unique body of work by a surprisingly complex man. Whether you're an aspiring comic artist, or a Barks fan who wants to know more about Barks, or if you're just looking for a good book with lots of fun comic art, you should find something of interest here.

This is the first Scrooge story I had ever read (and first Carl Barks story as well) and I couldn't have had a better introduction to the talent of the Duck Man. Although I had read this story first in "Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: His Life and His Times", this edition is just as good of a read (I prefered the coloring job for this particular story in "Life and Times", although generally I prefer the color in the Gladstone reprint volumes.) Excellent artwork, a well-orchestrated storyline, and an appropriate and clever ending makes this a thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended reading experience. Also includes a Gyro Gearloose story.

This book is one of the finest Barks' comic books ever made. The story brings you to the Klondike and the beginning of Uncle Scrooge's career and also introduces his one and only girl friend. The whole story builds around Scrooge's thrift and the lure for more riches and has a surprising ending! It is definetly a must for all people who like humor, a good story and great images.

A Graet book A realy must have A there is only one word that says how graet it is and that word is GREAT

This huge comic album is great and is loaded with good long stories. The theme of the album is Uncle Scrooge versus his nemesis Flintheart Glomgold, the second richest duck in the world. It has four long and really good stories in it. In the first story Scrooge and his nephews go to Africa to see if Glomgold is richer than Scrooge is. Then they become involved in a fierce contest to see who is the richest duck. In the second story Scrooge and Glomgold get in another contest to see who is richer when they change all there money into silver dollars and measure the piles. But the cheating Glomgold is up to no good. The third story is safari/adventure themed with Scrooge and his nephews in the wilds of Africa trying to beat Glomgold to an important auction. And in the fourth story Scrooge and his nephews race towards the Inca gold high in the Andes so they can try to get to it before the pursuing Flintheart Glomgold can. These were very good high quality stories with better color on the pages compared to other comic albums.

What can I say.... it's Don Rosa. The best drawer Disney have had since Carl Barks. A must have for all Disney fans. Allso the more adult crowd

Unfortunately this title is out of print which is actually a pity because there are some of the finest stories in it which appeal both to young and old!

This is a good Donald Duck comic album. It's first and main story is called the Terror of the River and is about Donald and his nephews trying to fend off a pursuing "Sea Serpent" from their house boat in the Mississippi River. I thought this was a very good story. The second story is about Donald's misadventures trying to train seals when him and his nephews have a day at the beach. And the third and comical story is about Donald Duck being a camp counselor for the Junior Wood Chucks trying to show his "bravery and heroism."

This was an okay comic album with two donald duck stories in it. In the first story Donald gets pierced by the thorn from an old Voodoo doll and is followed by a zombie from Africa. After getting new information from his Uncle Scrooge, Donald and his three nephews travel to Africa so they may be able to find the chief of a remote village and reverse Donald's curse so he doesn't shrink. In the second story Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and their nephews search for treasure in a recently purchased castle in Scotland.

This is one of the classics by the old duck master himself

There is a lot to like about this volume of Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck by Carl Barks. The two major stories (as well as the few single page gags) are beautifully drawn, vibrantly colored, and highly entertaining. The humor in the first half of "The Sunken City" is enough to get my recommendation. Yet the strorytelling (particularly in the SECOND half of "Sunken City") is not as satisfying as one would hope from a talent like Mr. Barks. The conclusion seems arbitrary and rushed, and the potential of this Atlantis story is never really explored. But don't get me wrong. The strengths far outweigh the shortcomings. The second story, "Luck of the North", also has it's moments and the packaging of the two stories together make this a good investment for anyone interested in the Disney ducks, Carl Barks, or just wonderful comic-book work.

Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck Giant Special #2 has an introduction by Geoffrey Blum and two full-length stories--"The Sunken City" and "Luck of the North." The first has Scrooge descending to Atlantis in search of the rarest coin in the world. The second has Donald sending Gladstone to the arctic with a phony map and then feeling guilty. It's Donald and the nephews to the rescue. The colors are vivid and the stories are even more fun than the later Duck Tales cartoon series.

This comic includes two long Uncle Scrooge stories with a one page short at the end and another one page short in the middle. In the first story Uncle Scrooge purchases the world's only supply of bombastium at an auction. While his scientists search for a use for the substance, Scrooge and his nephews rush off to Antarctica to put the Bombastium in guaranteed safe keeping, since the substance will evaporate if not constantly kept frozen. While on their journey, Scrooge and his nephews are pursued by sinister agents from the country of Brutopia, who want the Bombastium too. The second story is about Scrooge and his nephews trying to get a large payment of gold back from Bantu while trying to avoid the pursuing Beagle Boys. If you like any of the Disney ducks or Disney comics, you should enjoy this one.

This collection has a variety of Scrooge comics that will entertain you all

This is a nice, thick chunk of reprinted comics from the heyday of the Dell Walt Disney duck comics by Carl Barks. The book actually collects into a single volume four of the smaller out-of-print Gladstone Comic Album series, the same series that you can still find ... although the issues reprinted here are not--to my knowledge--offered individually on this site.
In this volume you will find some classic Carl Barks stories featuring Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge including "The Land Beneath the Ground," "Sheriff of Bullet Valley," "Only a Poor Old Man (which I have heard referred to as 'Money Lake'," as well as many short Donald Duck stories know collectively as the "Mastery" stories. All of the major works are by Barks and, unless I am mistaken, all but one of the shorter stories is by Barks as well.
Bottom line: This is a good, comprehensive collection of Duck Material and worth considering.